Left Turns/Curves Still a Problem For Me....

[cmbspyderrss]

As a new Spyder RSS owner there is a lot of good and also confusing info here. Like anything, ride more, learn more.

These vids were pretty good to understand the Spyder before my first ride.

And then this nutbag

 

[Bob Denman]

Lean to the inside of the turn, and brace yourself by stiffening up the leg that's on the outside...
It IS a lot like skiing! nojoke

 

[Devious56]

You didn't say if you have attended one of Can Am's driving schools. My suggestion would be to check with your dealer and attend this class. You will spend a couple of days learning about riding a Spyder, and have the ability to experience many different riding situations that would take you a much longer time just riding on the road. Riding a Spyder is really quite different than riding a two wheeler, but the best tip I could give you is think about pushing on the handle bar instead of pulling on it, it seems to give you a little better control . And ride, the more you ride, the easier it will become, and you will figure out what is the best way for you. Good luck, and enjoy.

David

 

[Bob Denman]

I know the Lesters: they started out in the snowmobile magazine end of reporting.
I always like "SnowTrax" magazine. :thumbup:
But while snowmobiles and Spyders feel very similar: there are distinct differences.
On a sled: you get as low and forward as possible. In really aggressive cornering maneuvers: you may not even have your outside boot touching the running boards.
The body positioning on the Spyder is nowhere near as radical. You DO get lower, more forward, and to the inside... But you will still be able to brace your outside leg against your pegs or running boards. This helps to keep the centrifugal forces from trying to pitch you to the outside.
On a sled: your backside is literally against the side of the seat: that's what does the bracing for you on them.

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

HOW TO RIDE REALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLY FAST VIDEO

This one is pretty good at demonstrating the riding technique I suggest may be necessary to feel more comfortable on left turns on crowned roads. It's simple physics.

Yep it looks reallllllllllly cool ........ however I think a really competent Spyder operator could keep up with Him without all the DRAMATIC - EXCESSIVE leaning maneuvers. Personally I would not want to be Him ..... if a deer or some other emergency situation occurred while He was doing His Exaggerated driving maneuvers ...... Some here claim driving a Spyder is very much like driving a Snow-mobile .... Well I was into the snow-mobile thing for over 30 years .... and there is almost NO similarity ..... You lean a snowmobile over ( in turns ) for the same reason Skiers do ..... The snow-mobile track and the Ski have to have something to push against for them to work at their optimum. At very, very slow speeds for either to turn it's not necessary to lean them, however once you get to 10mph and over you absolutely need to ....... To drive a Spyder fast you don't NEED to do what is pictured in this video, in fact I think it's like driving with over-inflated tires ---- UN-SAFE ..... sorry if this bursts anyone's bubble................. Mike :thumbup:

 

[Buckeye Chuck 54]

I ride an RT-S

I owned a BMW K1200LT with a Hannigan trike conversion. It took about 2 miles and I was totally comfortable riding it. But it wasn't the bike I hoped. I felt every little crack in the road and it was eating front tires, two tires a month. I bought a new '14 RT-S in June 2014. My insurance agent owned a 2012 RT-L. He told me it took him about 1000 miles to get used to riding it. He was right. At first I slowed for every corner and turn. It took me more than 1000 miles but those corners and turns I used to slow down for, now I speed up. The Bajaron anti sway bar helped even more.
Rural country roads are great as learning how to gain confidence. Interstates are dangerous places to learn.
Take your time. It won't take long and you'll be loving to get on it and ryde!
Did you ride motorcycles before buying your F-3? If so then you already know the F-3 is a totally different ride.

As a side note, after my insurance agent saw my new pearl white RT-S, a week later he traded in his '12 for a new RT.
Buckeye Chuck

I'm a new ryder, having my F-3T for only 10 days so far, and I've put only 300 miles on it at this point. I have not gone on the freeway and 99.9% of my miles have been on rural country roads.

Although I've gained confidence and experience with each ride, I find that I still have problems with left-hand curves and turns, both trajectory and throttle-wise. (Right hand turns/curves are fine). It seems that perhaps 50% of the time, I feel that I'm being thrown to the right and out of control when I'm heading left.

These are what I think may be contributing to the problem:

1. Lots of crowned roads, leaning to the right even thru left curves.

2. Loss of control (somewhat) of the throttle as the RH moves farther away from me. (Perhaps too much reach?)

3. On both left and right turns/curves, I lean into the turn by putting pressure on the outside peg. However, when I put pressure on the right peg (during a left hand sweeping curve), I may be pressing on the brake pedal as well.

These are all just guesses on my part, but nevertheless I get a bit nervous when approaching a left-hander now.

Does anyone have any advice on how to deal with this, whether it's a riding technique or an adjustment/add-on to the F-3 to try?.

Things that come to mind are a) a laser alignment - but the Spyder tracks well on smooth non-crowned roads as far as I can tell, b) BajaRon sway bar, or c) Try moving the bars closer to me (Via F-3's U-Fit system) - Might any of these help address the problem? Or do I need more miles under my belt before trying any of these?

Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated. I feel that I'm getting better and more confident at ryding, except for those left-handers!

Thanks!

 

[Bob Denman]

Chuck,
Did you tell your Insurance Agent about us? :thumbup:

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

ANSWERS

You are still missing the point of the Original Post. I give up.

Question : is the purpose of the Threads where the OP asks questions and seeks opinions ..... for everyone to repeat over and over the same thing that was already been said ( which happens a lot because most posters DON'T read other Posts here ). And I was commenting on the REPEAT VIDEO that you re-posted :banghead: ..... Mike :thumbup:

 

[Pirate looks at --]

Try standing on the inside peg. That's where your weight needs to be, especially for left turns on a severely crowned road.

Sorry Pete but I totally disagree. The OP has the right idea. You should be looking at this with a push, push, pull technique. Push with the outside hand, push with the outside leg, and pull with the inside hand, while leaning your upper body into the turn. This will keep the inside wheel from lifting ont the ground and keep preasure on the outside wheel to help it push your through the turn. I might add that you can do this with having a tight grip on the bars, just a little bit of preasure. As others have said just get out and ryde a lot more, after a while you can do it in your sleep.

 

[greybeard]

bad

You are still missing the point of the Original Post. I give up.

Pete I hope you mean that because you've posted some really bad misinformation on here. Hoping that readers don't take your posts to heart

 

[Lew L]

Another technique

I usually try to do a handstand on the bars through shape turns. I do have to correctly weight( or pressure) the outside bar though:joke::joke::joke::joke:

This thread has caused ================= Kaos

BTW::: the Joker symbol means----- I'm joking. I know sarcasm is the lowest form of humor but I'm good at it.

 

[Commander]

Ride, Ride, Ride, that is the best teacher. A young lady, who was an MC instructor gave me some great advise. 1. If you can see beyond the turn, look past the turn and your mind will tell your body what to do and 2. Don't look where you don't want to go. Don't keep looking at your front wheels to see where you are at. Focus on your ride. Everything else will come in time....

Good Luck and Be Safe.

 

[Pirate looks at --]

Pete I hope you mean that because you've posted some really bad misinformation on here. Hoping that readers don't take your posts to heart

I agree with you on this Greybeard. Bad advice is worse than no advice at all. To the OP, again the best advice is work on your technique, pay attention to what the "long time ryders" 50000 plus Spyder miles, have to say, and it will get better. Also go out to a vacant parking lot and practice the "correct" techniques in a safe environment!:yes:

 

[greybeard]

twistys

I agree with you on this Greybeard. Bad advice is worse than no advice at all. To the OP, again the best advice is work on your technique, pay attention to what the "long time ryders" 50000 plus Spyder miles, have to say, and it will get better. Also go out to a vacant parking lot and practice the "correct" techniques in a safe environment!:yes:

was just an average rider for 3 yrs. until I spent 3 days riding the twistys around Maggie Valley behind some really good riders. My skill level went up 100%. lean to the inside push the outside bar. One other thing-- if you are so afraid of flying off a crowned road you need to get rid off the spyder
Paul

 

[geoshmo]

After riding more than 120,000 kilometers on 5 different Spyders, my technique for left turns is to pull with left and and push with right, at the same time leaning into the curve as far as needed to fell comfortable while applying pressure to the right (outside) foot peg and I also tuck my left knee into the side of the tank, then I look through the curve and around she goes.

 

[waynerho]

You push down with the foot on the outside of the turn. Everyone is forgetting that this machine has a sway (anti-roll) bar. In a left-hand turn, pushing down on the right peg causes the left suspension to compress, causing the body to roll less.
I've ridden 17,000 miles on my RT in the last 2+ years. I can feel the turn arc tighten when I press down on the right board during a left turn.

 

[UtahPete]

To the OP, again the best advice is work on your technique, pay attention to what the "long time ryders" 50000 plus Spyder miles, have to say, and it will get better. Also go out to a vacant parking lot and practice the "correct" techniques in a safe environment!

Most of the advice here doesn't seem to address the question the OP posted of how to feel in control on a left-handed curve on an off-camber crowned road, when he feels like the bike is going to pitch him off.

Practicing in a parking lot sure isn't going to do it.

 

[JayBros]

I'm not an engineer so I can't explain the details but I do ride tight off camber left and right turns in the NC mountains. On normal left and right turns for me pushing down hard on the outside peg or floorboard while leaning into the turn and forward toward the bars counteracts the normal centrifugal force experienced in the turn. In an off camber turn, the road sloping downward and away from the apex, I find pressing down on the outside peg or floorboard is even more important because I am counteracting not only the centrifugal force of the Spyder through the turn but also the outward and downward slope of the off camber roadway. Leaning into and toward the bars is again shifting my weight into the turn, just as in a normal curve. YMMV.

 

[I-Day]

I will admit I am having trouble getting use to it! After 40 years on two wheels
I'm finding it difficult to learn new tricks! I will say since I bought my 2016 F3 T in April I have only put on 650 miles because of a crazy schedule! I like the idea of going up to the school parking lot!

 

[UtahPete]

I'm not an engineer so I can't explain the details but I do ride tight off camber left and right turns in the NC mountains. On normal left and right turns for me pushing down hard on the outside peg or floorboard while leaning into the turn and forward toward the bars counteracts the normal centrifugal force experienced in the turn. In an off camber turn, the road sloping downward and away from the apex, I find pressing down on the outside peg or floorboard is even more important because I am counteracting not only the centrifugal force of the Spyder through the turn but also the outward and downward slope of the off camber roadway. Leaning into and toward the bars is again shifting my weight into the turn, just as in a normal curve. YMMV.

That makes sense to me.